Shock-absorber for automobiles.



J. c. MURDOUE SHOCK ABSORBER FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 10,1908.

91 2,483. Patented Feb. 16, '1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

mag mm J. G. MURDOGK. SHOCK -KBSORBER FOR AUTOMOBILES. I APPLIOAIIOK FILED OCT. 10,1908.

912,483. Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

' To all whom it may concern:

' Brodhead, in the county of Green and State,

UNITED STATES JOHN COUCH MURDOGK, OF BRODHEAD, WISCONSIN.

SHOCK-ABSORBER FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Application filed October 10, 1908. Serial. No. 457,145.

Be it known that I, Jenn O. MURnooK, a citizen of the United States, residing at of Wisconsin, have invented a newand useful Shock Absorber for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

1 This invention has reference to in1provements in shock absorbers for automobiles and it is designed to produce an attachmentauxiliary to the ordinary springs of an auto- 'mobile for adjusting them to different loads and conditions of roads.

While the springs provided with an auto mobile or other like structurehave their elasticity adjusted to average conditions, they may ' made for supplementing the ordinary automobile springs with another spring or springs so arranged as to render the-spring support as a whole more elastic, while at the same time provisionis made whereby the tension of the springs may be adjusted to either the load or the road conditions or both at will.

With the present invention the body of the vehicle may be so supported and the springs so adjusted as to ride easily and evenly with a heavy passenger on one side and a light passenger on the other side, or ifthe road conditions be bad then the springs may be adjusted accordingly. Moreover these adjustments may be readily made either on the road or on starting a journey without any necessary exercise of skill and with the tools usually found in'the repair kit of an automobile, or by hand.

The invention be best understood from a consideration of the following detail description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, with the understanding however that the shcwing of the drawings is not to be taken as more than illustrative of the invention since theinv'en-tion is ap licable to a great number of types of road ve 'cles and in order to ads. t the invention to distinct types of road ve iclesit is necessary that the forms and sizes and even the locations of some of the parts shall be modified in accordance with the type of vehicle. may be done without in any manner depart- Specification of Letters Patent.

This however Patented Fe 16, 1909.

ing from the s irit of the invention or sacrificing any of t e advantages thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1' is a side elevation with parts in section showing the application of the supplemental spring structure to one end of one of the body supporting s rings of an automobile or other road vehic c. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the application of the in vention to a different type of spring than shown in Fig. 1'.

While the purpose of the present invention is to; render the running of an automobile easier'iind er' djfi'erent conditions of load and road than heretofore, it is to be understood that otherroad vehicles may be equip d with the invention with like results whet er such road vehicles be of the self-moving type or whether they be drawn by animals.

In the drawing there is shown 'aispring i of the ordinary laminated leaf spring type, usually elliptical in shape. In the particu lar form shown in the drawings the spring.

is held by clips 2 to a plate 3 which in turn is formed with a clip. 4 embracing the axle 5 of. the vehicle. type and may be varied as may be desired in accordance with the type of vehicle to which the sprin is applied; and the spring itself may be di erently shaped than shown in the drawing, this portion of the drawing being simply illustrative. There is also shown in the drawing a portion 6 of the frame work carrying the body of the vehicle although the body is not shown in the drawing, but it will be understood that this part of the vehicle of known construction and will be varied in accordance with the type of vehicle.

Fast to the body 6 or frame the case maybe is a depending bracket 7, the form shown in Fig. 1 to which is pivotally secured one end of an an is arm 8 made up as shown in Fig. 2 of two like members 9 spaced apart by sleeves 10 upon bolts 11 which serve to hold the two members 9 in proper relation one to the other.v This angle arm may be termed the evener.

The evener 8 is made up in the particular This structure is of known.

,members 9 a proaching each other toward the free end the arm 13 so that the evener 8 is not as wide at the end of the arm 13 as at the end of the arm 12.

. Surroundin the sleeve 10 at the free end 10 of the arm 13 IS an eye 14 formed .on one end eye 24 to which latter there is secured a hook of a'threaded rod '15 the other end of which receives an internally threaded block 16 sha ed to receive the corresponding end of a helical spring 17, the structure bein such that the block may be turned upon the rod orstem 15. At the other end of the spring 17 is another-internally threaded block 18 u. on athreaded rod 19, the other end of which terminates in a head 20 adapted to be secured to theyoke 4 by the bolt 21 The rods'j15- and 19 are threaded in opposite directions, that is one.rod has a right hand thread and the other rod a left hand "thread'sothat on turning the blocks 16 and 25' 18 the spring may be extended or contracted by the simultaneous screwing of the block on to the rodsor in a direction-toward the free ends ,thereof.

bracket 7 and arm 12 upon the spring 1 While the arm 13 is connected to the axle or other fixed structure through the spring 17.

In Fig. 3, a spring member 1 is secured to the body or body frame 6, this s ring memher being like the spring 1. The ree or outer end of the s ring 1 is secured directly to the free end of t e arm- 12 of the evener.

In the structure shown in Fig. 3, the s ring 17 is connected, as in Fi 1, by a b ock 16 and threaded rod 15 to t e arm 13 of the evener 8, while at the other end of the spring 17, there is a block 22 which there is secured a swivel rod 23 terminating in an 25 shaped to embrace the axle 5. I The arm 13 of the evener 8, ma have a series of perforations 26 so that t c'efl'ective length of the arm may be regulated.

If a weight be placed upon the body 6 and the ordinary and supplemental springs be pro erly tensioned then they will yield si- ,'mu taneousl but because of the levera e of the evener 't e yielding of the springs wi be greater than wouldbe the case if the body were connected directly to the end of the spring -1 or 1 and 1- and consequently on rough or uneven roads the body of the vehicle is comparatively undisturbed.

If the s ring 17 be made-quite stiff by screwing the nut 16 or the nuts '16 and 18 u on the respective rod 15 or rods 15 and 19 t en the elasticity of the s rings be due to the greatest extent to t eyieldmg of the spring 1 or land 1. This will be the case when a heavy load is to be supported and the spring 17 will assist the spring 1 or 1 and 1 in sustaining the load and adding stiffness to the springs. v

In case of a light-load the spring 17 may be made of less tension so that it will support and yield to the load where the spring 1. or 1 and 1 is too stiff therefor.

For rough roads and for light or heavy loads the spring 17 will be strengthened or weakened as the case may be and in accord. ance with the conditions present. 7

The attachment is designed to be used in connection with existing structures without any material change thereof, it being only necessary to loosen the end of the spring 1 from its normal engagement with the carriage body or frame supporting the same and to attach the bracket/7 to the frame 6 with the spring. 1 attached to the angle, of the arm 8 and the spring 17 attached to the yoke 4 in the structure of Fig. 1, or to disconnect the two members 1 .and 1 and properlyadjust them and then make the connections as shown. The sup lemental springs 17 may be attached to eit er or both ends of any or 7 all the springs supporting the body. The

spring 17 may be readily turned on its longi-.

tudinal axis to cause the nuts 16 and 18 to screw simultaneously upon the rods 15 and 19 because of the opposite direction of the threads thereon or to unscrew therefrom as the case may be and as desired and by this means the structure of Fig. 1 may bequickl'y adjusted to unequal loading of the vehicle. In the structure of Fig. 2 the spring 17 may be readily turned by hand and adjusted as to tension.

Sometimes the passenger on one side of the body will be a heavy person and on the other side a light person so that unequal loads are brought upon the springs. spring 17 will be adjusted for the heavy person and the other spring 17 for the light person so that the load upon the springs is thereby equalized. much easier running of the vehicle than is the case with the ordinary springs or with supplemental springs which are not adjustable for the different distributions of the load. Furthermore the body is maintained level, even when the load is unequally distributed,

thus, in the case of an automobile, having a.

new vehicle the connections will be modified acordingly but the adjustable spring 17 and the arm 8 with its intermediate connection to the spring 1 will be retained.

In referring to the part 6 as the vehiclebody an the bracket 7 as attached to the vehicle body it will be understood that there In this case one This will result in a very iso sults are the same whether the bracket 7 be attached directly to the vehicle body or to some of the irons supporting the same.

What is claimed is: 1. Anattachment for vehicles comprising a spring, a lever attachable at one end to the vehicle body and at an intermediate point to a respective one of the ordinary springs carried by the running gear of the vehicle, and connections between one end of the first named spring and the lever and other connections between the other end of the first named spring and a portion of the running gear of the vehicle.

2. An attachment for vehicles comprising a spring, a lever attachable at one end to the vehicle body and at, an intermediate point to a respective one of the ordinary vehicle springs carried by the running gear of the vehicle, and adjustable connections between the first named spring and the lever, and other connections between said first named spring and the portion of the running gear of the vehicle carrying the ordinary vehicle springs.

3. An attachment for vehicles comprising a spring, a lever attachable at one end to the vehicle body and at an intermediate point to a respective one of: the ordinary vehicle springs carried by the running gear of the ve' hicle, and an adjustable-connection between the first named spring and the lever at the end thereof remoie'from its connection to the vehicle body and other connections between the other end of the first named spring and a portion of the running gear of the vehicle.

I d. An attachment for vehicles comprising a spring, a lever attachable at one end to the vehicle body and at an intermediate point to a respective one of the ordinary vehicle springs carried by the running gear of the vehicle, screw connections between one end of the first named spring and the lever and a swivel connection between the-other end of the first named spring and a portion of the I icle springs carried by the running gear of the vehicle, a screwconnection between the other end of the angle .lever and the first named spring and adjustable to and from the intermediate point of said lever, and a swivel connection between the other end of the first named spring and a portion of the running gear of the vehicle.

6. An attachment for vehicles comprising an extension spring, a nut connected to one end of said spring, a swivel hook for engaging a fixed portion of the running gear of the ve- I hicle, an angle lever having a short arm for 55 connection tothe body of the vehicle at its of the vehicle, and connections betweenthe first named spring and the running gear of the vehicle.

8. An att clnnent for veh1cles comprising a spring supplemental to an ordinary vehicle spring carried by the running gear of the vehicle, connections between one end of the supplemental spring and the vehicle body i and including means for attachment to one end of the vehicle spring, and connections between the other end of the supplemental spring and the running gear of the vehicle, the connections with the supplemental springs being adjustable to regulate the tension of said spring. 1

9. An attachment for vehicles, comprising a spring supplemental to an ordinary vehicle spring and having one end connected to the same member of the vehicle to which the ordinary spring is attached, and a lever connected on one end to the supplemental spring, at an. intermediate point to the ordinary vehiclespring, and at theot-her end to a member of the vehicle otherwise uncon- 10. An attachment for vehicles; comprising a spring su-pplemental'to an ordinary ve hicle spring in fixed relation to the running- 106 nected to the said ordinary vehicle spring.

spring, at an intermediate point to the ordinary vehicle spring, and at the other end to the vehicle body which latter is otherwise unconnected with the said ordinary vehicle spring. A

11. An attachment for vehicles, comprising a spring supplemental to an ordinary ve- I hicle spring, the latter being fixed to one of the vehicle axles and the supplemental spring having one end also connected to the vehicle axle, and a lever connected at one end to the supplemental s ring, at an interme diate point to the or inary vehicle spring, and at the other end to the vehicle body which latter is otherwise unconnected with the said ordinary vehicle spring.

- in testimony that I claim the foregoing as ,my own, I have hereto afiixed mysignature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN COUCH MURDOCK. Witnesses: 1

W. H. FLEEK, Enw. ,H. Conn. 

